Posted on 10/09/2008 9:53:42 AM PDT by K-oneTexas
Immigration Vote Miscounted
by Mike Pence
Issue 117 - October 8, 2008
As Members of Congress, we do a lot of things in the House of Representatives – we attend hearings, we help constituents with various problems, we conduct oversight, we debate the pressing issues of the day, but the most important thing we do is vote on behalf of the people we were elected to serve.
This Select Committee was charged with the solemn duty of investigating what happened on the night of August 2, 2007, when a vote on the Republican motion to recommit the Agriculture Appropriations bill went awry. The vote was controversial; it would have amended the bill to deny taxpayer-funded benefits from being received by illegal immigrants. The vote was close. And, as this Select Committee found, the Republicans were right, the vote was wrong.
The report that we are about to adopt states:
There may be a disagreement about what should be the final vote tally, but one fact is indisputable: the vote tally of 212 yeas and 216 nays that was finally announced is incorrect. It is either 215 yeas and 213 nays, which would have reflected the tally at the time the Chair prematurely announced the statement of result, or 211 yeas and 217 nays, which would have reflected the tally had Mr. Boehner’s well card been processed.
The report goes on to find that when the Speaker pro tempore, Rep. Mike McNulty, called the vote for a second time at 214-214 – when the actual vote tally was 215-213 according to the Electronic Voting System and all votes cast at that time – that it would have been just as reasonable for him to stop right there and re-announce the vote with the then correct tally of 215-213 as what he did, which was hold the vote open. If he had followed this parliamentary route, the Republicans would have won the vote.
He did not, however, and the vote was held open for approximately seven additional minutes. At the end of that time, the vote total was announced as 212-216, with the Republicans losing. During the time the vote was held open, the Republican Leader submitted a well card to change his vote, but this vote change was not processed by the professional staff on the rostrum. For a Member of Congress not to have a cast vote counted correctly is a very serious matter, and it will forever be a black mark on the 110th Congress.
In testimony received by this Select Committee, we heard from numerous witnesses that they had never seen a vote closed without a tally slip. The tally slip, of course, is the piece of paper containing the final vote tally that is passed from the tally clerks to the Parliamentarian to the Presiding Officer for announcement. It is the confirmation that all votes have been properly input and recorded in the Electronic Voting System.
Mr. McNulty did not use a tally slip in calling Roll Call 814. This is the first documented instance in recent history of the House of this happening. The failure to use a tally slip caused not only great confusion and chaos in the House, but also an inaccurate result to be announced.
Clearly this vote was wrong. It was incorrect in its final tally. It could have been called at 215-213. No tally slip was used. And, adding to all of this was the Majority Leader and his actions during the vote.
The Majority Leader acknowledged yelling at Mr. McNulty and others on the rostrum to shut down the vote after the Speaker voted and caused the tally to reach 214-214. He acknowledged directing his anger to the Parliamentarian, saying “We control this House, not the Parliamentarians,” when he mistakenly thought the Parliamentarians had advised Mr. McNulty to hold the vote open rather than call it in the Democrats’ favor.
There is nothing wrong with any Majority Leader seeking to have a vote closed when his side is winning. But there is a line that must not be crossed. In his testimony, the Majority Leader admitted that it was “certainly possible” that he helped to create an atmosphere where Mr. McNulty felt pressure to close the vote sooner than he might have otherwise. While Mr. McNulty denied hearing the Majority Leader or feeling pressure, others on the rostrum heard and felt it. It added to the confusion of the night and was unfortunate.
Anger reigned on the House floor on August 2nd. Mr. Hoyer was angry, and Republicans were angry. In fact, they walked-out. In my opinion, with our finding today that the vote was incorrect and that it could have been called at 215-213, that anger was justified.
But the House floor should not be a place where anger reigns. And, we have come together with a series of recommendations that I believe, if followed by whichever party is in the Majority when the gavel falls next January, will prevent another night like August 2nd and another vote like Roll Call 814.
In our report we recommend the removal of the new sentence in clause 2(a) of rule XX of the House Rules. This sentence is the one that the new Majority added to the rules in January 2007 to prevent a vote from being held open for the “sole purpose of reversing the outcome of such vote.” Republicans never agreed with the addition of this sentence to the House Rules, and I am pleased that my Democrat colleagues have found agreement with us on this point. As we have said since the beginning of this Congress, the sentence is unworkable and very difficult to enforce. The Select Committee’s investigation actually showed that it caused new problems without solving the old ones.
We also recommend that the Speaker include in the Speaker’s opening day announcement regarding voting in the House a statement that the Speaker expects all Presiding Officers to wait on certification from the clerks that the tally is accurate before announcing the result of a vote. This means that a tally slip will have to be used to call a vote. We never should have another vote called without a tally slip. Ever. And if this recommendation is followed, we will prevent future votes from being called incorrectly.
There are other very good recommendations that I am pleased we could agree on, such as increased training for Members of the House, especially those presiding in the Chair. Ultimately, the integrity of the House of Representatives is completely dependent on the integrity of each vote that takes place on the floor of the Congress. Adherence to our recommendations will prevent the integrity of the House of Representatives from being challenged again.
We cannot restore Roll Call 814, but we can restore what has been taken – the fundamental respect for the independence, fairness and integrity of the House of Representatives. By acknowledging what happened that evening, and embracing our recommended reforms, this Congress can learn from the lessons of August 2nd, move beyond that dark moment and restore the confidence of the American people that this is not a Democratic House, this is not a Republican House, this is the People's House and their will is worked every time a vote is called.
Mike Pence is a Congressman from Indiana’s 6th District.
Sorry, that horse left the barn a long time ago.
another part of the great left-wing-conspiracy,,I believe everything the dems accuse republicans of,true or not,they do ten times worse,they are destroying everything in this country to usher in the great socialist banana republic,,,they are sooo proud!
ping
Same old culture of curruption from the left.
Any sentence containing both “Congress” and “integrity” without a negating adverb is absolutely false.
If it weren’t for the future of our nation being at stake, and our national security, sometimes I just wish the Dems would win and be completely in charge. Then everything would be their fault. The press would have to go after them in order to justify its existence. The results would not be pretty, but they would be entertaining.
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